


Of Body and Heart

by Eirenne Saijima (ladypoetess)



Series: More Than Sisters [1]
Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Implied/Referenced Incest, Pseudo-Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 18:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3457502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladypoetess/pseuds/Eirenne%20Saijima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aviendha has decided that Elayne could use a few lessons in wrestling and hand-to-hand combat such as Far Dareis Mai are taught. By the end of the lesson, however, both find that they have learned far more than they expected.</p>
<p>For Karaburrito, because there is never enough Elayne/Avi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Body and Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [karaburrito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/karaburrito/gifts).



"It is good that you have a guard of women to protect you, Elayne Trakand, but you must be able to defend yourself if they fail." Aviendha advanced on Elayne.

"I can defend myself, Aviendha, I have _saidar_." Elayne protested, backing away from the taller woman.

"And if someone stops you from channeling? If you are somewhere that the Power is blocked?" Aviendha's voice said she would brook no protest on this subject. "That is foolish thinking, and I know that you are not a fool."

Aviendha dropped into a crouch that looked more than a little silly in the fine silk dress she was wearing, but it still made Elayne's eyes pop with fear and her legs carry her backward until she bumped into the table. Ever since the first sister bonding ceremony with the Wise Ones, Aviendha had become even more protective of Elayne. In this case, that protective instinct was coming out as an insistence that Elayne learn to fight with fists and feet.

"You should take a lesson from the First of Mayene, sister;" Aviendha's eyes never left Elayne's, but she began to circle her slowly to the right. "I am told that they learn to fight this way to protect themselves from Tear-sent assassins. The Light send that you will never need the skills, but it is the way of a child to assume that will be the case."

At the comparison to a child -- _how could Aviendha be so rude?_ \-- Elayne's chin lifted indignantly, "I am n--"

The breath flew from Elayne in a strangled squawk as Aviendha barreled into her middle and carried them both to the floor in an untidy pile of limbs and layers of silk that left Elayne trying vainly to strike back for both the insult and the assault. Aviendha seemed to be less encumbered by the cloth, for all that she was far less accustomed to it, and she fended off the flailing blows as easily as if Elayne truly were a child.

"Do not begin by trying to strike your attacker, but by solidifying your own position." Aviendha's was calm, with a lecturing tone that seemed at odds with her effortless move to regain her balance while pushing Elayne more off of her own.

"This is preposterous, Aviendha, I will not engage in such--" Elayne grunted as her legs were pulled out from under her again, dumping her onto her back.

Again and again, Elayne tried to get up from the floor, to avoid Aviendha's grasp, only to be pulled back to the floor or else bowled over by another tackling impact. Through it all, Aviendha continued instructing Elayne in all the things she was doing wrong, taunting her when she began to slacken her attempts to get free, and encouraging her when she began to fight back in anger.

"Good, Elayne!" Aviendha's voice sounded proud when Elayne managed to land a blow to her sister's midsection, however lacking it may have been in real force. Elayne thought then that Aviendha might let up and give her a moment's rest, but that was more wishful thinking than any real belief that it would happen; Aiel were as stubborn as mules and Wise Ones were that twice over.

Instead of letting her up, Aviendha moved in a fanning of skirts and hair so fast that Elayne barely had time to register what was happening before she found herself utterly pinned to the floor, the taller woman sitting astride Elayne's middle and pinning her arms to the floor with strong, unyielding hands.

"How would you free yourself from this, Elayne Trakand?" Aviendha watched Elayne expectantly and so could not have missed the rising flush in the other woman's cheeks beyond that caused by exertion.

"What if I do not wish to free myself?" The words had left Elayne's mouth before she knew she was going to speak them, and the mortification of being so forward left her face hot. With no way to turn away, to hide her face, Elayne squeezed her eyes shut so that she would not need to see her adopted sister's reaction.

Aviendha went still. She did not release her hold on Elayne's wrists and she did not speak, but she was so still that she hardly seemed to breathe. She studied Elayne's reddened face, eyes squeezed tightly shut, and lips tightly compressed as if to stop any further admissions from slipping through them unbidden. After several long moments, Aviendha did speak.

"Do you mean that, truly, Elayne?"

There was a catch in Aviendha's voice that Elayne would have missed if the room were not so silent. That, combined with the complicated mix of emotions she could feel echoing from the other woman made Elayne's decision for her. Opening her eyes, she fixed a clear-eyed gaze on the other woman's face and smiled tremulously.

"Of course I do."

As if to prove her honesty, Elayne let her body go lax beneath Aviendha, tension draining out of her muscles and leaving her deliberately vulnerable to the other woman. In response, Aviendha let go of Elayne's wrists and sat back, resting her weight atop the smaller woman's hips as she studied her face.

Elayne flexed her wrists then slowly moved her arms down until she could rest her hands on Aviendha's thighs. The shuddering gasp this elicited from the other woman triggered a mirrored response in Elayne that threatened to overwhelm her. When Aviendha reached out to cup Elayne's face in her hands, her fingers felt dampness streaking the other woman's cheeks. It was strange; Aviendha could almost feel those tears on her own face. For some reason it seemed as though Elayne's form was blurry in her vision. After moments that felt like ages, Aviendha spoke again.

"I have long loved you, Elayne Trakand, but I knew that you loved Rand al'Thor and I would not have wanted to interfere. But then, that is no longer a worry I need to have, is it?" Aviendha's voice took on a note of wonder at the last. "I could not have dreamed that you might return my feelings."

Elayne reached up and brushed her fingers along Aviendha's face, wiping away the tears that matched her own. "I do love you, Aviendha. I like to think that I would have loved you whether or not Rand was in our lives, but I am so grateful that he provided a reason for you to come into my life. In you I have gained a friend and a sister and, perhaps, even more?"

Aviendha gazed at Elayne with hooded eyes and answered her question by leaning forward to place a confident kiss upon Elayne's parted lips. When she drew back it was only a few inches, enough to be able to see Elayne's face as she spoke. "As much more as you wish, Elayne. We will be sister-wives, you and I, when we marry Rand al'Thor. That means that we will not only marry him but each other as well."

"We will?" Elayne's eyes widened, and she smiled again. "Why did you not tell me that part before?"

"You are a wetlander and unfamiliar with Aiel ways." Aviendha shrugged lightly. "It is the way among Aiel, but I could not know if you would shy away from it and so I did not speak of it."

Elayne slipped a hand up to press her fingers against Aviendha's cheek, "You must always tell me when there is something so important that I should know, even if you think I will not like it. I will not turn from you, Aviendha, you must know that already."

"No, of course not; not as a sister..."

"Not as a sister, not as a friend, not as anything else. We are bound together Aviendha, and I would not have you gone from me, even if I were very angry with you." Elayne's eyes searched Aviendha's until the other woman nodded. "Good, then that is settled."

Aviendha's laugh at this was hearty and full, but turned breathy as Elayne joined her, the smaller woman's laughter causing her to move slightly beneath Aviendha's hips. When Aviendha kissed her again, this time there was no talking, only the silent communication of touch and taste and fingers tangling in hair to silently tell "not there, yes _there_."

Hours or moments later, it was hard to tell, Elayne lay with her arms wrapped tightly around the body of the woman she loved in ways she had never dreamed possible, their dresses in matching heaps of cloth nearby. Content to remain like this for as long as she could, happy in ways she had not fathomed, Elayne startled when Aviendha spoke into the silence.

"Do not think that I will cease teaching you to defend yourself, Elayne. I will be more adamant now, perhaps."

A muffled groan into Aviendha's shoulder was all the response Elayne gave.


End file.
